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Learn more about the journey we’ve been on with our incredible partners:
Dorset Care Record
Dorset is a region with a long history of partnership working. It is an Integrated Care System (ICS), known locally as ‘Our Dorset,’ which has evolved from many years of collaboration between the region’s health and social care organisations.
The challenge
As part of Dorset’s Sustainability and Transformation Plan, it was identified that staff across care settings needed to have access to a more holistic view of the current status of a person’s health and care in order to improve their ability to make informed decisions about their treatment.
The solution
The Dorset Care Record (DCR) programme was created to deliver an integrated digital care record (IDCR). In April 2017, Orion Health’s Amadeus health data platform was selected to provide the technology behind the DCR.
Prior to the Dorset Care Record, clinicians and care professionals would often only have access to a percentage of a citizen’s information due to organisational data siloes. This lack of a single view of information could lead to inefficiencies in the system, delayed transfers of care, unnecessary emergency admissions, duplicated tests and clinicians having to make care decisions without a full view of a citizen’s situation. Information was also not always in real-time and seeking citizen information held at other organisations could be time-consuming or sometimes impossible for clinicians, particularly during evenings or weekends.
Testimonials
“Being able to look up DCR blood and radiology results directly from our Electronic Patient Record means that the MDT discussion is more complete, and people don’t end up having unnecessary repeat blood tests for example.” Dr Hart, Principal clinical scientist – University Hospitals Dorset
“In comparison with a typical summary care record, the DCR contains much more detail from hospitals, such as a history of hospital ‘encounters’, tests performed — from radiology and pathology — alerts, allergies, discharge medications, letters to GPs and referrals. Not all hospitals currently provide this information in full.” Robin Mitchell, owner, Victoria Park Pharmacy – Dorchester
Connecting Care
Connecting Care is a digital care record system for sharing information in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It allows instant, secure access to your health and social care records for the professionals involved in your care.
Relevant information from your digital records is shared with people who look after you. This gives them up-to-date information making your care safer and more efficient.
The challenge
Patients in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) are often cared for by a number of different organisations, even when receiving treatment for a single condition. Duplication of consultation, assessment and collecting patient information was impacting how well BNSSG providers were able to support patients and health and wellbeing outcomes.
“A lack of information was often being cited as a ‘blocker’ to providing high-quality care. In the local BNSSG area, we have multiple organisations employing multiple professionals. It is a complex situation but for the person seeking care, but that complexity is irrelevant. It is simply a source of frustration when the professional they encounter does not have timely access to the right information needed to provide the best possible care.” Andy Kinnear, Digital & Transformation Director, South, Central and West CSU
The solution
In March 2013, Orion Health was selected from over 40 suppliers to implement an integrated digital care record through its Open Platform technology. Open Platform enables clinicians and other health and care professionals to access patient records across systems, locations, and organisations; and provides the tools to support patient care.
Through the Connecting Care programme, health and social care information is now shared between 23 organisations plus 85 GP surgeries across NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Connecting Care also enables document sharing from the three acute trusts, providing quicker access to clinic letters and discharge summaries across all the departments in hospitals; including the Emergency Department and a range of services including Anti- Natal, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Neurosurgery, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Cancer.
Testimonial
“It was amazing having this resource over the long weekend. I was able to access information about a patient’s usual insulin regime when she was severely unwell and not able to communicate with us.” Pharmacist, North Bristol Trust
“Game changer! Negates the need to contact GP by about 90%” Team Leader, Dementia Wellbeing Service
The Northern Ireland Electonic Care Record
Northern Ireland operates under a national Health and Social Care system, which is responsible for commissioning services, resource management, performance management, and service improvement to meet the needs of the population of Northern Ireland. Within the system there are a total of six Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts.
The Northern Ireland Electonic Care Record (NIECR) was delivered by the regional Business Services Organisation to enable information sharing for the entire region.
The challenge
Faced with many disparate clinical systems Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) recognised the ever-increasing amount of clinical time devoted to locating patient information, which prevented effective and timely decision making. HSCNI had a vision to provide care professionals with a comprehensive care record, for every patient using HSCNI services. The solution was to include clinically relevant information, assembled from electronic systems located anywhere in the service and presented in real time via a single, web-based, easy-to-use solution accessible from anywhere in HSCNI.
The solution
A proof of concept went live for the NIECR in 2009, with the full roll-out taking place in July 2013. The NIECR is designed to sit on top of current HSC information systems, providing health and social care professionals with a single view of key patient information, wherever the patient is in Northern Ireland. This information includes demographics, lab results, medications, allergies, diagnoses, encounters, clinical correspondence and much more. Over the years, much additional functionality has been added to the NIECR solution to further support patient care, click here to find out more.
Testimonial
“The Electronic Care Record [has made the most difference to the field in my lifetime]: there’s no need to worry about letters not in the chart, and most of our hospital specialties now use this, so it saves a lot of time and effort. DNA testing is second.” Prof Patrick Morrison, Clinical Geneticist
“The requirement for high quality and timely diabetes treatment is imperative. The new Diabetes Pathway provides clinicians such as myself with this level of information, allowing us to be proactive in our care and provide a much better journey for patients.” Dr Roy Harper, Senior Endocrinologist
North of Scotland
The North of Scotland (NOS) region is made up of six territorial health boards, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Tayside, NHS Western Isles, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland. Together the 28,000 plus staff across these boards provide care for approximately 1.4m citizens.
In 2018 NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland boards came together to implement a solution using Orion Health technology to enable clinicians within the region the ability to view and share patient information across the different boards, they named it the Care Portal. In 2019 NHS Tayside procured Orion Health products to support links between their main EPR and the NOS Care Portal effectively creating a shared view for 99% of the region.
The challenge
Many of Scotland’s remote areas fall within the North, resulting in patients receiving treatment in various health boards across the region. Cross-boundary care has always created a challenge for NHS Scotland as often patients will begin treatment in one hospital and through centralisation of specific clinical services will later continue treatment in a more specialised hospital within another health board. Additionally, clinicians often work across health boards with the need to access patient information from their home board area.
The lack of access to patient information causes a strain on the health boards as well as the patient due to tests and procedures having to be repeated.
The solution
On 14th February 2019, the NoS Care Portal was launched at the Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. The Care Portal allows staff working within the four health boards to access patient information across health boards including the national Emergency Care Summary.
The Care Portal has reduced the time and resources clinicians would previously invest in backtracking the citizens record and are now able to view all the necessary data in one place. Orion Health has enabled NoS to increase patient care and safety by breaking down barriers between health boards as well as primary and secondary care. In the future information provided by social care will form part of the record by combining all health and care information in one portal.
The most recent development has enabled health and care professionals from four health boards across a wide range of clinical settings, access to an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status through the Orion Health shared care record used in 11 out of the country’s 14 health boards. Click here to read the full story.
Testimonial
“My husband is a dementia patient and often travels alone across Scotland, I am now confident that if an accident occurs the hospitals can access his record to understand his condition and know to contact me as his carer. From a patient point of view, I think this is brilliant.” Ann Pascoe, Non-Executive Board Member, NHS Highland
The momentum COVID-19 has created in the health technology industry is changing the way healthcare is perceived and provided across the globe, Orion Health is excited to be at the heart of this change.
We’re thrilled to have been on this incredible journey with our partners, and we’re looking forward to helping them evolve and expand their Shared Care Record in the future.
